If there was such a thing as a slighty scruffy utopia, Crescent Head would fit the bill. Just under five hours’ drive from Sydney (depending on how the Newcastle bypass roadworks are proceeding that day), “Creso” is the quintessential NSW surf town that time forgot. A council-owned caravan park hogs prime real estate on its foreshore. Clusters of surfers lean back on the hoods of their 4WDs in the beach carpark checking the right-handers that peel off perfectly from the craggy headland. Children paddle in the turquoise tidal inlet Killick Creek below.